Cleveland Browns’ 2023 season was riding on the shoulders of Joe Flacco at the end of the season, one thing that not a soul had seen coming previously.

Now, Flacco is about to head into NFL Free Agency not knowing where he could be suiting up next to throw around the pigskin.

One place that makes a lot of sense on paper is the New England Patriots, another team in the AFC that probably never could have imagined Flacco being on the team.

The Patriots are heading in a different direction with Jerod Mayo now running the ship as head coach. One of his early decisions was to hire Alex Van Pelt to be his offensive coordinator. Van Pelt had spent the last four years with Cleveland and was right there on the mic in terms of game planning with Flacco.

New England is virtually projected to take a quarterback in the top five of April’s draft by most folks. Bringing in a player like Flacco could give them a bridge for a few games, or he could serve as a more than capable backup if the rookie starts right away.

Flacco has been clear that he still hopes to play and he’s open to a return in Cleveland. But first he wants the chance to start somewhere or at least battle for a job. Neither of those things can happen in Cleveland, though they could give him the backup job.

Last offseason, Flacco had just about no free agency interest. It should be different this go around due to the magical run at the end of the 2023 season with Cleveland.